Coming up with healthy yet delicious snacks for toddlers can be an everyday challenge, especially for first-time moms. In preparing food for them, always keep in mind that their body needs certain nutrients that is why the choice of food is very important. The way the food is presented should be appealing, as much as possible, it should consist of a variety of tastes, colors, and texture so that even if those who are picky eaters would eat what you would present to them.
To instill healthy eating habits for your toddlers, you need to introduce them to eat healthy foods with fruits and vegetables even at their snack time. In this article, we’ll give you some healthy snacks that your child will surely love.
How Many Calories A Day Is Suitable For Them?
The calorie intake that a toddler should have on a daily basis ranges between 1,000 to 1,400 calories depending on their level of physical activity. This calorie count should be divided into 3-4 meals. Since toddlers only do limited activities, giving them too many calories may lead to deposited fats that might be a cause for overweight and obesity.
Tips on Feeding Toddlers
- Make things colorful. Monochromatic snacks can be boring. Your child would likely eat the snacks that you’ll give them if it is full of colors.
- Add a handful of crunch. It is ideal to add some crunchy foods into their set of snacks such as cucumber, pretzels, etc.
- Cut out shapes. To make their snacks appealing and interesting, you may cut their snacks in different shapes. There are food cutters that you can buy in the market. Make sure to just have small pieces so they can easily eat it.
- Make safety a priority. In choosing snacks for toddlers, it is not only important to check the food’s nutritional value, but you also need to consider if it will not cause choking. Foods such as popcorn, marshmallows, hard candy, whole nuts, round fruits, and vegetables, etc. are the common foods that may cause choking.
It is important to supervise your child as they eat. Know your child’s food allergies, if there is, as soon as they start to eat solid foods. Ask your pediatrician or dietician about how you can determine if they have allergies.
- Check for the sugar content. The lower the sugar content, the better. For a food product, choose for the one that is only 5-8 grams to ensure that your child will only have a minimal intake of sugar.
- Check for the ingredients. The first three things that you can see on the packaging would determine if that food product is a healthy one. Whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, and protein products are a good sign that the food product is healthy. If the first three ingredients include sugar, sucralose, honey, or other related to sugar, that’s a sign not to consider it.
- Check the sodium content. Food products that contain sodium are generally not advisable for children. Sodium is usually seen in some snack foods like biscuits so it is important to check for the ingredients first.
- Combine foods. If your chosen snack lacks certain nutrients such as fat or calcium, you may add milk, smoothie, or yogurt alongside with their snacks.
Healthy Snacks For Kids On The Go
These snacks are light snacks, good for breakfast, mid-afternoon, as well as bedtime snacks for toddlers. Your goal in giving them snacks is to make it presentable and healthy.
- Cheese sticks
You can use a variety of soft cheese wrapped in breading or food wrapper. It is a good source of calcium and protein content. Check the ingredients of the cheese that you will be using, make sure that it doesn’t contain too much sugar. This is a perfect snack if your toddler is playing outdoors.
- Energy Balls
Energy balls are usually made from oats, nuts, and dried fruits that are a high source of protein, healthy fats, fiber, good carbohydrates, and fiber. You can serve it to your toddler in the morning as an energy booster. Make sure to make small balls so your child can easily bite it.
- Mini Muffins
You can create different kinds of muffins with different flavors such as chocolate, blueberry, cinnamon, carrot, banana, etc. The nutrient content would depend on the main ingredient that you will be using. You can also create muffins in different shapes to make it more appealing for your little one.
- Granola Bars
This is considered as one of the healthiest snacks for toddlers, however, you should be mindful adding in sugar. If you are buying it from a store, make sure that it doesn’t include trans fat and saturated fat. Granola bars are usually high in fiber, protein, and other micronutrients such as calcium, B vitamins, magnesium, and iron.
- Smoothies
If you are having a hard time letting your child eat different kinds of fruits and vegetables, giving them smoothies is the best way to ensure that they still get essential nutrients. Let them drink it through a straw so they can enjoy it more. Make sure not to overload it with ingredients so the taste will not be too overwhelming.
- Mixed Crunches Fruits and Vegetables
If you don’t have much time to prepare your child’s snacks, you can give them different kinds of mixed fruits and vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, grapes, watermelon, banana. Etc. It is not only easy to prepare, but it is also loaded with vitamins and minerals that support their nutritional daily needs.
- Sweet Potato Chips
Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious. It is a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It has the ability to support the immune system and it can also enhance brain functioning. It is best to serve it in thin slices so your toddler can easily bite it. The sweet potato has a natural sweetness so no need to add sugar, but you may add a little bit of salt to enhance the taste.
- Eggs
Eggs are not only served in main meals, but it can also be served as a snack. You can either give it to your child hard-boiled or scrambled. It contains a variety of nutrients and minerals such as Vitamin B12, riboflavin, biotin, iodine, calcium and it also has natural contents of Vitamin D. Eggs are a go-to snack for toddlers because it is always available and is easy to prepare.
Guide In Giving Them Snacks
- Morning snack
If you have given your toddler breakfast at around 6 am or 7 am, you can serve their morning snacks within 9:00-10:30 am. It is ideal to give them an energy booster type of snacks. Avoid giving them junk foods and too many sweets so they can still eat properly at lunchtime. You can give them granola bars, mixed fruits, crackers, etc.
- Mid-afternoon snack
The afternoon snacks are served at least 2-3 hours after lunchtime. In most cases, it is given after the child woke up from their nap time, so the last meal that they’ve eaten had been completely digested. You can serve them smoothies with muffins or cheese sticks. Mid-afternoon snack can be given at around 3:00-4:30 pm.
- Evening Snack
The evening snacks can be omitted if the toddler ate dinner at around 8 pm-9 pm but if they ate earlier like 6 pm-7 pm, you can still serve them evening snacks especially if they requested it. Some parents no longer give their toddlers evening snacks because it might just cause an upset stomach. Remember to just give them small portions of snacks like a few pieces of cereals.
Frequently Asked Questions In Feeding Toddlers
- How many snacks should I give my toddler throughout the day?
The number of snacks, as well as the amount of food to give your child, depends on their appetite. In general, 2-3 snacks all throughout the day is ideal. It can be spread in the morning, afternoon, and at midnight.
- Is it advisable for toddlers to eat in between meals?
Yes, it is advisable to give them snacks in between meals to ensure that their daily nutritional requirement is met. Just make sure to give them healthy snacks so they can really benefit from it. Toddlers have small stomachs so they also eat in small portions that is why it important to give them food regularly that serves as their fuel the whole day.
- How to know if you are giving your child the right food portion?
It is advisable to give your toddler food in portion. There are suggestions to start with one tablespoon per age so if your child is about 2 years old give him at least 2 tablespoons of food but if your child is still hungry you can add it still.
Final Thoughts
There are struggles in feeding toddlers because sometimes they tend to be picky eaters but you still need to be firm in serving them healthy foods. There are a lot of snacks that you can prepare, some may take hours for it to be ready but there are also healthy snacks that will only take minutes or even seconds to be prepared.